Hotel Monte del Mago Alajuela

... have a chance, and a little extra time, you should go online and check this ranch out.  It&#8217;s really amazing what they have created.  There are no wires coming into the ranch, the produce all their own power through hydro turbines, grow their own organic produce, fish from the river, produce there own hand soap, manufacturer all the furniture and much, much more.  It is really fascinating; they really have it figured out.<br><br>After a peaceful night&#8217;s sleep, with no Volcano ...

... br> A teen boy arrived last night and I met him today. He was quite distant and was disrespectful at one point but when I notified the tias as I have been asked to do, they addressed it immediately and there were no more problems.<br> One of the tias asked me to walk to the local school with her and two of the younger kids. I think this is something they only ask of the volunteers that they really like so I was happy ...

... up there it was just fun... rolling about 10km just downhill through the lush green nature with the smell of the coffee-fields in my nose. It turned out to be a really great trip. And I wouldn´t forget about the great weather.. because when I arrived back at the hostel i had a look in the mirror and was shoked. As there is no beach I didn´t expect to need sunblocker.. well, my skind said thank you and I was as badly burned as I never was before... When Anja arrived 2 ...

... we barely spent any time in direct sun today. Mental note for tomorrow is that sun tan lotion goes on immediately after breakfast. We are on a bus by 7:30am tomorrow heading to the Poas Volcano which is one of the most spectacular in Costa Rica. We leave San Jose on Tuesday morning so I don't know when our next entry will be. From what I understand Tortuguerro is probably not going to have Wifi in the lodge room. We will write when we can.

... und schon wieder um sechs wach war. Ich glaube aber, dass werde ich beibehalten, denn ihr erinnert euch: um sechs ist es schon hell! Dadurch dass bei Anbruch der Dunkelheit die Buergersteige hochgefahren werden, stehen die Leute hier auch frueher auf. Wir waren dann mittags in einem Soda (kleines Strassenlokal) essen, grosse Portion, supernette Leute und das ganze fuer uns zwei fuer umgerechnet sechs Dollar. Der ...

Apartment Hunting in San Jose, Costa Rica Monday morning . . . December 1st We awoke to a beautiful sunny day which we assumed was what every day will look like for the next six months. The typical Costa Rican breakfast (rice, beans, eggs, and toast) at the hotel was very good. It wasn't until the third morning that we discovered that if you wanted fruit you had to ask for it and it was an additional cost of $1 for a huge plate of cut pineapple, papaya, and ...

... but probably sooner) succumb to the temptations of industrialization and free-market capitalism. I hope they're wrong, but even I haven't been here long enough, or read enough on the subject, to make a meaningful prediction one way or another. Okay, hands up if you thought that would stop me. Ha, ha! It's curious that Costa Rica is transitioning so quickly from an agrarian economy to a service economy, without having gone through an industrial manufacturing ...

... laid them on a cement slab. I realized that my bags were pretty safe here because we were in some sort of blue barred jail like area. That was a little weird to think about but I couldnt really think too much, I had to pee. I decided I could risk the bathroom. I slipped out the gate where I had entered and asked where the bathroom was. A man pointed to an area behind some semi trucks. I seriously wondered if it was a good idea but needed to go. I ventured over there as the man ...

... about, grab some lunch and people watch. At the time of booking what I did not realize was the International Airport included eight gates, one store, a foreign currency desk and a three restaurant food court. I had walked the entire thing in 20 minutes. I had a long wait ahead of me. I read, watched the musicians, checked where other flights were going and finally made my way to the end of the airport at gate eight. I was very ...

... we loaded our gear into Diego's SUV and rode in a separate van from La Selva to Tirimbina. <br><br>At the gate we met up with Gerardo, who is a guide there and a colleague of Lee's. Gerardo has such a keen eye and pointed out flora and fauna we would have surely missed on our hike to the field station. E.g., what appeared to be decaying leaf matter on a palm frond was actually a group of small bats. He used a laser pointer which was especially helpful when pointing out critters high ...